Nicetown is a neighborhood located in Northwestern Philadelphia with a population of 4,540. 85% of that population are African American. For the past couple of years, protesters were seen in Nicetown on Wissahickon Avenue, a site where a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) natural gas power plant will be operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The gas plant is supposed to provide electricity for the Regional Railroad System and Midvale Bus Facility. However, residents are not pleased with the proposed power plant because “it will be an attack to public health”.
Air pollution in Nicetown is already a burden from SEPTA’s bus garage, that holds up to 300 buses, and the Roosevelt Expressway that emit toxic pollutants into the air. Nearly 1 in 3 children in the 19140-zip code have been diagnosed with asthma (Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 2012) and with this proposed natural gas plant that is nearly half way built, those numbers are more than likely to increase.
According to SEPTA, almost 70 tons of emissions will be released in the air yearly, and those emissions are filled with toxic chemicals including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc. Air Management Services (AMS) granted SEPTA an approval permit for this CHP generator. “There will be potential emission increases of 21.7 tons per year (tpy) of NOx, 27 tpy of CO, and 16.3 tpy of VOCs from this project,” stated AMS.
The reason for which SEPTA decided on Wissahickon Avenue according to Johannsen, SEPTA’s director of Innovation, is because of how the power system is set up. “All of Philadelphia Electric Company’s (PECO) power is fed in through SEPTA’s Wayne Junction substation, which makes the complex the only available location for the new power plant.”
Councilwoman Cindy Bass is not buying that narrative. In an article published in June 2017 she introduced the question as to why the Midvale station and PECO was built in Nicetown to begin with in the 1990s. It is not a coincidence that industries chose this specific site, it was strategically thought out. This is what many would consider environmental racism, targeting predominantly black communities as toxic facilities.
Neighbors Against the Gas Plant (NAGP) is an organization made up of Nicetown residents whose mission was to stop the proposed CHP natural gas plant by appealing the permit.
“We the people are taking our air quality into our own hands. We are standing up to reverse climate change by resisting additional fossil fuel projects in the city, particularly ones that are completely unnecessary, which this one is. This is environmental racism. Majority of the people that live near the plant are African American and low income. We realize that our health is being affected by decisions made by the city when they allow polluting plants,” said Lynn Robinson, director of NAGP
When I mentioned to Robinson that Nicetown may be the only available location for the power plant, she agreed it is logical to feed electricity on site, but is unnecessary.
“This is a century old system and it is true that the electrical system feeds to that spot. However, they do not need to feed electricity on site. I was told by SEPTA they experience power outages from PECO on average once every other year, so they are not having huge problems with needing back up. If they need a backup system, they can do what other cities have done and create a battery backup, instead of building a toxic gas plant.”
Robinson understands there are powerful forces at play, but hopes the License and Inspection Review Board will not allow that to sway their decision.
“The city has a reputation for being dirty corrupt, but that does not mean Licenses and Inspection will go under corruption just because of that reputation. I will say considering all the pressure from the natural gas industries and PGW (Philadelphia Gas Works), they will make a profit selling gases, so those pressures hopefully are not influencing the board.”
Jondhi Harrel, the Executive Director of The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), an organization that helps individuals released from incarceration, explained why they decided to partner up with NAGP.
“Because we live in the neighborhood, many of our clients live in the neighborhood, a lot of our children suffer from asthma. and because it was the right thing to do. If SEPTA is poisoning the very air that our program clients are trying to breathe as they go about their daily activities, that is a concern to us. Our organization attacks racism on all levels.”
Harrel emphasizes the importance of awareness in the community to see change.
“Residents in the community need to be skeptical of agencies like SEPTA, if they have the community’s best interest. Many in the community go about their daily lives and they never look up to see what agencies like SEPTA is planning until something like this happens and they say how the hell did a gas plant get in the middle of my community? It is because of awareness. They must listen to activists and put the good of their community sometimes ahead of their everyday lives.”
Harrel believes SEPTA needs to hold themselves accountable and mitigation steps need to be taken if the plant operates.
“We are currently talking to SEPTA in terms of settlement because the gas plant is almost finished, and they need to mitigate some of the effects the gas plant will have on our community. This is a friendly disguise plan to support the fracking in Western Pennsylvania and to promote the use of oil or natural gas. They should be converting over to renewable source of energy like solar and wind power and they are not doing that.”
Update:
After years of litigation , the License and Inspection Review Board voted on the appeal and despite opposition from Nicetown residents, they voted to keep the gas plant running.
However, residents say they will continue this fight to spread awareness for the right to clean air in their community.
“I can say this, that AMS admitted that public pushback on this permit is the biggest pushback they ever seen, and that tells me that we set a precedent already, Robinson.”
“On November 26th, 2019, the Licenses and Inspections Review Board sided with Air Management Services, and against our appeal to SEPTA’s Air Pollution Permit. The appeal was brought by NAGP, 350 Philadelphia, and the Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC.) NAGP is appealing the decision to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.”- from NAGP website
If you or anyone you know may be interested in supporting the residents of Nicetown and NAGP, contact Mayor Kenney and Councilwoman Cindy Bass to express your concerns.
Mayor Kenny: james.kenney@phila.gov/ (215) 686-2181
Councilwoman Bass: phlcouncil.com/cindybass/ (contact info. listed on website)
WAITING TO XHALE 